1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a molding apparatus, a method of molding, and molded products.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, for the purpose of improving the fuel efficiency of automobiles or the travel distance of hybrid or electric vehicles, numerous efforts have been actively made to reduce the weight of vehicle bodies. One of known means for the weight saving is a method for replacing the metal components of an automobile by carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) or glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP).
Generally, CFRP or GFRP molded products produced by injection molding tend to be lower in mechanical or physical properties, for example, tensile strength and flexural strength, than components formed of, for instance, steel. For this reason, the insufficient strength of molded products produced by injection molding is an issue.
Also, in injection molding, molten materials (for example, a molten resin) often converge to form weld lines, resulting in poor appearance. The areas where the weld lines are formed also present another problem: they are lower in strength than other places. To solve these problems, JP-2002-103387-A is disclosed. In addition, JP-H6-842-A discloses a technique for using an intercepting plate at a time of formation of a molded product and operating the intercepting plate during injection filling.